Factions
Order of Steel During the Texan Expedition undertaken by High Elder Rhombus nearly eighty years ago, the Brotherhood, even as a smaller group composed of only a handful of personnel rather than a complete Chapter, provided security in the region though it was more of a side-effect than the groups intended objective, not that those who received protection from the Brotherhood realised that. However, once the Expedition was considered complete and what remained of the Brotherhood force returned to the East Coast and re-integrated into the main Chapter, the Texas region was left without a stabilising factor, with settlements and homesteads that relied on them for security left vulnerable to bandits that were more than happy to exploit them now that their protectors weren't around to stop them. The majority of people were able to accept that the group was gone, the Wasteland was a cruel place with what goodness there was either disappearing or becoming corrupted, but some people weren't able to accept that the Brotherhood had just left them, reassuring themselves that there was a reason, some even coming to believe that they had left for some greater journey or prophecy. Before the Order of Steel was established, there was the Church of Steel, established by a Elizabeth Hall, who came to worship the Brotherhood, treating the long gone Paladins and Knights as Angels, naming Rhombus himself an Archangel, but this wasn't just admiration, it was born of desperation, people that were unable to do anything else hoping that praying would bring their saviours back to them. Julian Rowe was a teenager when the Brotherhood left, having encountered and observed them, he knew that they weren't angels, nor were they a religious cult, they were an organised military, composed of soldiers that were trained and outfitted, and he was quick to point this out to the church. At first there was resistance, but gradually he swayed the opinion of the members, overthrowing Hall and naming himself High Elder and renaming the organisation the Order of Steel. The first few steps were simple, obtain power armour and energy weapons, find a base of operations to occupy, gain members and powers, these were simple compared to the later tasks he'd be required to undertake, considering he had no combat or organisational experience, and lacked the insider knowledge that would've been required to accurately recreate the structure and ideology of the Brotherhood, he had to improvise, though he did so with enough fabricated confidence to convince most otherwise. Julian would eventually lead the Order to settle in The Alamo, where the original Brotherhood Expedition had been located several years prior, establishing a base of operations, securing the perimeter, forcing out any critters, irradiated monsters or squatters that'd taken up residence before them, utilising a liberal display of energy weapons and gunfire, suffering minimal injuries in the process, though there were several close calls among the inexperienced members of the group. At first their appearance was believed to be the actual return of the Brotherhood of Steel by the less perceptive, but to any of those that'd seen or even just heard stories the real thing, it was instantly clear that they weren't the same group, the difference in equipment quality, combat ability and the severe lack of discipline lead the majority of people to believe otherwise. The group encountered a number of Bandits and Raiders after establishing themselves and making their group known to the Wasteland, and though things were rough as first, untrained civilians attempting to fight with degraded and almost hollow suits of power armour, using weapons they didn't fully understand, there were of course casualties, but over time members of the organisation became experienced, though never becoming comparable to a member of the Brotherhood, they were able to fight at least somewhat efficiently, and so these members would go on to teach the next generation of recruits, slowly but surely increasing the quality of the troopers, but without a set training regime, their results were inconclusive. In his later years, Julian Rowe became something of a recluse, becoming an Elder in more than title by that point, and eventually died of natural causes, though that's just assumed as there are few medics and less trained doctors among their number. The group was not without a leader though, as he'd sire a child with one of his subordinates at some point, Marcus, who'd come to take up his fathers title and position once he'd passed. Unlike his father, he was a member of the group since the day he was born, he knew how to fight and how to lead, and with a close friend of his acting as his second-in-command, High Paladin Lloyd, he'd increase their outward activities, his intentions not as positive as his fathers, as his men were instructed to raid passing caravans and harass civilians. It was Marcus that approached the town of Carbon and demanded tribute for the work of his "ancestors", the Brotherhood of Steel, a claim he himself knew was untrue, he threatened action against the settlement when they refused to pay up, almost instructing his forces to open fire on the populous. He was seen off before the slaughter could continue, intimidated by the newly established Sheriff's Department only after one of the Deputy's had successfully killed one of his men, having been stationed in one of the nearby buildings and acting as a Marksman. Though they possessed the numbers to take the town, Marcus knew that they lacked the weapons and ammunition to see it through, and now that the settlement possessed a force to defend itself, he wasn't too keen on fighting a more experienced force. Put off from his original intentions, the High Elder set his sights elsewhere, eventually deciding to take the unclaimed Fort Worth for the Order, having heard that it was in some way significant to the Brotherhood he'd only heard stories off at this point. This task was more achievable, and after a moderate engagement with the ghouls and rad roaches that'd infested the place, the structure was theirs, and was eventually placed under the command of Head Paladin Lloyd and garrisoned with a number of Paladins and Knights, while the main force returned to The Alamo. Unsatisfied with how Marcus had re-shaped his fathers organisation into a group of his personal thugs, Head Paladin Nathan Rho challenged the Elder for their position, and after some attempts to talk him down by the current holder of the title, they commenced in combat. There was a clear difference between Marcus and Nathan, the former having been treated as the future leader of the Order since the day he was born, he was entitled, and as experienced as he was, he didn't possess skill or technique, he swung blindly and fired his weapon without aiming, while the latter was inducted into the order by a veteran who served under Julian, who taught him what the Order was supposed to be, and more importantly, taught him how to properly fight and made him train daily. Marcus had been handed the role of Elder, while Nathan had moulded himself for it, and it showed, as he easily overpowered and was eventually forced to kill his superior, receiving the title of High Elder for his victory and taking command of the Order. Nathan aspired to return the Order to its original purpose, to provide security and safety to the settlements of the Texas region, but despite his efforts, the damage had been done, as the actions of the prior High Elder had earned the group nothing other than contempt by most towns, especially Carbon, who actively refuse to allow the group into their town, their attempts being met by the appearance of the Sheriff and his Deputies. Despite that, the group is actually making efforts to rebuild their reputation, well, most of the group, as Head Paladin Lloyd continues to demonstrate the characteristics and activities that originated from the former High Elder Marcus. The contradictory actions and intentions had left many of the Wasteland with mixed feelings about them. Lawmen The Lawmen are one of the more recent factions to establish themselves in the Texas Region, established from the remnants of the Desert Rangers, forced to abandon their original mission and were left scattered, the majority of their number dead, those few that survived either left the region or attempted to relocate, opting to avoid The Alamo and deciding to move on after being welcomed to Carbon, wanting to avoid the conflict between the settlers and the Order. After spending a short while wandering between locations, engaging in a brief engagement with the Raiders operating in The Corpse, the group made their way to the regions Trade Hub, initially intending on tagging along with visiting NCR forces to the Mojave but were instead hired on by the Trade Master, who allowed them to function as an independent mercenary company, working alongside the settlements security force. Since then they've gradually increased their numbers, either recruiting guards that were both already competent and interested in working for the group, as there were few other groups that were able to pay as well, and those that did recruited sparingly. Over time they've been able to significantly increase their numbers, and despite the Rangers initial intentions of bringing law to the region, the majority of those altruists decided to fight and die at the Capitol rather than evacuate, leaving the more morally flexible members of the group survive without being held to the responsibilities they once were. Though their numbers have steadily increased with time, they remain outnumbered by the large amount of individuals that visited Lone Star, making up for it with their emphasis on quality, providing high intensity training to their recruits, which boasted a washout rate of roughly eighty percent, meaning that most people didn't get passed training, but those that did were exceptionally competent fighters, they were also able to outfit their force with higher quality weapons and armour. Though challenged at first, the group became respected and somewhat feared by the visiting groups, having demonstrated a zero tolerance for suspicion activity, enacting swift, lethal punishment to make their point completely clear. As expected, the groups visiting Lone Star demanded that something be done about their interference, claiming that they were impeding commerce between the groups, of course, this was more because they weren't taking bribes, being paid more than enough for their loyalty to the Trade Master. Their complaints about the group really didn't do much, if they didn't want to deal with the security, they were more than free to leave, of course that meant any trades routes through the settlement were null and void. Generally they seem the most indifferent about the condition of the region, having fallen from being Rangers to simply being Soldiers of Fortune. Crimson Caravan Company Crimson Caravan is the largest caravan outfit in New California, and quite probably the entire wasteland. The Crimson Caravan Company is the largest supplier to the NCR of military-grade weaponry, and an assortment of provisions and other equipment types. A well-known trading company with a number of caravaneers in their employ, the Crimson Caravan Company originally plied their wares in the Hub. Historically famous for plying their trade across the most inhospitable areas, the Crimson Caravans now contract out much of their deliveries to wandering merchants across the Mojave. Recently, the Company has been hit hard by the instability along their trading routes. Deathclaw incursions at Quarry Junction have impeded trade south of New Vegas, and three sub-contractors have had their Caravans destroyed; possibly by raiders, although ash piles at the scene of the massacre suggests otherwise. A hard-nosed, no-nonsense Alice McLafferty has been recently drafted in to aid in the recovery of the Company, to look for any openings in trade or rival companies to undercut, and to keep the trade flowing with the NCR and other favoured clients. For a while now the Crimson Caravan Company has taken a particular interest in the largely unclaimed Texas Region, not having expected the monopoly the Lone Star Trade Settlement had on the area and being too stubborn to pull out of the area, they've been struggling to establish themselves properly in the region, only having recently been allowed an embassy in the town, what they call a major victory the Trade Master has casually referred to as "throwing the new guys a bone", dampening the spirits of a number of their merchants. Though technically not a branch or department of the New California Republic, they've become more or less essential to their operations back in the Mojave, and so have been throwing their weight around more and more as of recent, having NCR Troopers and on occasion, Rangers, escort their caravans through the region, attempt to provide a show of force though their usually out-shined but other groups that are better situated in the area, much to the annoyance of Vince Vance, the local Trade Ambassador for the Crimson Caravan Company.